National Scenic Trail

Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail PCT

National Scenic Trail (1968) · California, Oregon, Washington, United States

Published length: 4,265 km2,650 mi2,650 mi published by the Pacific Crest Trail Association
Measured line: 4,271.3 km2,654 mi+0.1% against published
Line: In the datasetLicence: CC BY 4.0
Tier: National Scenic TrailA United States National Scenic Trail

The map needs JavaScript. Download the line from this page.

Main line

Line: Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), read 2026-11-08, drawn simplified to 30 m. Credit: Pacific Crest Trail Association (CC BY 4.0). Say that the line was reshaped. Base map: OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Download the line

GPX is simplified to 5 m for devices. GeoJSON is the full-resolution line as published in this dataset. Neither carries elevation.

Main line4,271.3 km measured in 1 part · Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA)

Main line: GPX, 3.4 MB Main line: GeoJSON, 28.8 MB

Credit the source

Pacific Crest Trail Association (CC BY 4.0). Say that the line was reshaped.

Licence: CC BY 4.0

release.txt: the source, licence and date the line files came from.

The record

Kind: Designated trailDesignated, maintained and published as one trail by a land agency or a trail association
Designation: National Scenic Trail (1968)
Tier: National Scenic TrailA United States National Scenic Trail
Listing: First setIn the first set of trails
Inclusion: Listed unconditionallyEvery National Scenic Trail is listed
Where: CA OR WA (California, Oregon, Washington), United States
Published length: 4,265 km2,650 mi2,650 mi published by the Pacific Crest Trail Association. A check value, not measured from the line.
Short name: PCT
Record ID: pacific-crestStable: the directory name, never changed

Verification Checked 2026-11-08

Measured: YesThe line was downloaded and measured

Published: 4,265 km2,650 mi
Measured: 4,271.3 km2,654 migeodesic, from the line
Difference: +0.1%measured minus published
Parts: 1pieces left after joining ends within 100 m

Within 15% of the published length Beyond 15%: the record must say why

One feature, one line, 4,271.3 km, +0.1% over 4,265 km.

Source and licence

Line in this dataset: line.geojsonThe main line file of the record
Source status: VerifiedThe line was downloaded from the source and measured
Publisher: Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA)
Source: https://services5.arcgis.com/ZldHa25efPFpMmfB/ArcGIS/rest/services/PCTA_Centerline/FeatureServer/0Where to ask for the line: a layer or relation page
Line source: Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA)
Format: ArcGIS FeatureServer layer, one feature (a 35 MB GeoJSON when asked for all vertices); PCTA also offers file downloads at pcta.org/discover-the-trail/maps/pct-data/
Main line: One feature, the main line. No alternates or connectors in this layer (PCTA publishes those separately).How the main line is told apart from alternates, connectors and side trails
Coordinates: EPSG:4326What the source stores; published files are longitude/latitude (EPSG:4326)
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Credit: Pacific Crest Trail Association (CC BY 4.0). Say that the line was reshaped.The credit line to show, as the source asks
May be passed on: YesThe source's terms allow its line to be passed on
OpenStreetMap only: No
Source checked: 2026-11-08
Newer release?: arcgis-layer-edit-date: GET <layer>?f=json and read editingInfo.dataLastEditDate (and the feature count); fetch again when either changes. PCTA updates the line once a year, early in the year (last edit 2026-01-06).How to tell whether the source has a newer release

What the source says

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). The Pacific Crest Trail Association states: 'All of the data accessed through this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.' (https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/maps/pct-data/, read 2026-11-09). Credit: Pacific Crest Trail Association.

With the page it was read on. Not legal advice.

OpenStreetMap

Relation: 1225378
Note: OSM has 1225378 plus about 30 section relations; not needed.

Logo

Shown only to identify the trail

This logo belongs to Pacific Crest Trail Association (pcta.org); USFS Pacific Crest NST office. It is not covered by this dataset’s licences, and no right to use it for any other purpose is given or implied.

Some logos are official emblems of United States National Scenic or Historic Trails. Those emblems are federal insignia; their use here is for identification only.

A holder who wants a logo removed, replaced or credited differently can ask; see Logos.

Status: Logo in useThe trail has a logo
Holder: Pacific Crest Trail Association (pcta.org); USFS Pacific Crest NST office
Taken from: https://www.pcta.org/
File: shield.png
Note: No public logo-use policy found. The PCTA name and logo are its marks. The official emblem of a National Scenic Trail is a federal insignia (18 U.S.C. 701; Federal Register notices of 2000-03-28 cover Ice Age, North Country and Natchez Trace; status for the others not confirmed). Use needs the administering agency's permission.

Every field of the record, with its exact value

As stored in trail.toml. The record schema says what each field means.

Field	Value
`id`	pacific-crest
`name`	Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail
`short_name`	PCT
`country`	US
`regions[0]`	CA
`regions[1]`	OR
`regions[2]`	WA
`length_km`	4265
`length_note`	2,650 mi published by the Pacific Crest Trail Association
`tier`	national
`designation`	National Scenic Trail (1968)
`wave`	1
`inclusion`	nst-unconditional
`source.status`	verified
`source.publisher`	Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA)
`source.url`	https://services5.arcgis.com/ZldHa25efPFpMmfB/ArcGIS/rest/services/PCTA_Centerline/FeatureServer/0
`source.discovery`	arcgis-layer-edit-date: GET <layer>?f=json and read editingInfo.dataLastEditDate (and the feature count); fetch again when either changes. PCTA updates the line once a year, early in the year (last edit 2026-01-06).
`source.format`	ArcGIS FeatureServer layer, one feature (a 35 MB GeoJSON when asked for all vertices); PCTA also offers file downloads at pcta.org/discover-the-trail/maps/pct-data/
`source.crs`	EPSG:4326
`source.licence`	CC-BY-4.0
`source.licence_text`	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). The Pacific Crest Trail Association states: 'All of the data accessed through this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.' (https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/maps/pct-data/, read 2026-11-09). Credit: Pacific Crest Trail Association.
`source.attribution`	Pacific Crest Trail Association (CC BY 4.0). Say that the line was reshaped.
`source.osm_only`	false
`source.mainline`	One feature, the main line. No alternates or connectors in this layer (PCTA publishes those separately).
`source.source_checked`	2026-11-08
`source.redistributable`	true
`source.line_source`	Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA)
`source.line_file`	line.geojson
`osm.relation`	1225378
`osm.note`	OSM has 1225378 plus about 30 section relations; not needed.
`shield.status`	use-real-logo
`shield.logo_source`	https://www.pcta.org/
`shield.contact`	Pacific Crest Trail Association (pcta.org); USFS Pacific Crest NST office
`shield.note`	No public logo-use policy found. The PCTA name and logo are its marks. The official emblem of a National Scenic Trail is a federal insignia (18 U.S.C. 701; Federal Register notices of 2000-03-28 cover Ice Age, North Country and Natchez Trace; status for the others not confirmed). Use needs the administering agency's permission.
`shield.logo_file`	shield.png
`shield.logo_owner`	Pacific Crest Trail Association (pcta.org); USFS Pacific Crest NST office
`verification.verified`	true
`verification.date`	2026-11-08
`verification.measured_km`	4271.3
`verification.difference_percent`	0.1
`verification.parts`	1
`verification.note`	One feature, one line, 4,271.3 km, +0.1% over 4,265 km.